RELAXED TRAVEL. The Yanson Group of Bus Companies (YGBC) principal office in Bacolod City. The Bacolod-based company, the country's largest bus firm, on Tuesday (Feb. 8, 2022) welcomed the easing up of travel restrictions to spur economic activities amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic.(PNA Bacolod file photo) BACOLOD CITY - The Bacolod-based Yanson Group of Bus Companies (YGBC), the country's largest bus firm, has welcomed the easing up of travel restrictions to spur economic activities amid the coronavirus disease 2019 (Covid-19) pandemic. Matriarch Olivia Yanson, corporate secretary and treasurer, said in a statement on Tuesday placing the key cities under Alert Levels 3 and 2 eases people's mobility both for work and leisure. "Mobility directly translates into a bigger demand for public transport. This is a big relief to the transport industry," she added. On Monday, Yanson also underscored this in her message during the annual stockholders' meeting of Goldstar Bus Transit Inc., one of the companies under the YGBC, which is plying major routes in Luzon. Mainly serving the Visayas and Mindanao commuters are Vallacar Transit Inc., Ceres Liner Travel and Tours Inc., Mindanao Star Bus Transport Inc., Bachelor Express Inc., and Southern Star Bus Transport Inc. Leo Rey Yanson, president and chief executive officer, reiterated the company's commitment to providing the Filipino commuters with the most reliable means of public transportation amid the continuing challenges of the Covid-19 pandemic. The elder Yanson had earlier said the YGBC, which has 18,000 employees, is not resorting to retrenchment despite the financial difficulties brought by the health crisis. "Our operations had been greatly affected. Despite the global crisis, my youngest son, Leo Rey, makes sure that no employee will be retrenched," she added. (PNA) }